Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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123. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has been in contact with the Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Disability in relation to the ongoing lack of available therapists or therapy services at a school (details supplied); and if so, the outcome of those discussions. [14241/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The provision of therapy services is a matter for the HSE and the Department of Health.

The HSE has commenced a process to re-instate the health and social care supports in special schools where previously they had been provided.  This involves the provision of an additional 136 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) posts, which is on top of the 85 re-instated posts for Special Schools that was announced in 2021. This builds on the 290 posts funded in Budget 2021 and Budget 2022, which the HSE will also continue to recruit to the Children’s Disability Network Teams. 

Following engagement with the Department of Health, the HSE has submitted a timeframe for the reinstatement of the 136 WTEs, which will be in three phases as follows: 

- Reassigning existing HSE staff to fill one third (circa 44) of the posts. 

- Filling a further one third of the posts (circa 44) via existing panels and supported with further reassignment.  

- In parallel with the first 2 Phases, a number of initiatives will be commenced immediately, including a high-profile international recruitment campaign to fill vacant OT, SLT and Physiotherapy posts.

This programme of work which had been initially delayed by issues raised by the relevant union organisation, has now commenced and will be monitored closely for the remainder of the 2022/2023 school year with regular communication between relevant stakeholders at a local and national level to ensure progress.  

Each one of the approved additional 136 WTE posts will deliver services on a 35-hour week basis. The allocation to special schools will be aligned with the level of service and disciplines provided prior to the establishment of Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT) under the PDS Programme. 

In relation to the school referred to by the Deputy, the HSE have advised my Department that one WTE Senior Occupational Therapist post has been allocated to the school and the recruitment process to fill that post is ongoing. The local CDNT is continuing to liaise directly with the school on this matter and the provision of psychology services at local level. 

The HSE advise that they are working to address recruitment challenges for the beginning of the 2023/24 school year to ensure that a greater level of therapeutic services will be available to special schools.